Tokelo Rantie copped an enormous amount of abuse on Twitter following his missed penalty in Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations defeat against Algeria.
The England-based striker grabbed the ball and put it on the penalty spot after midfielder Sibusiso Vilakazi was brought down following one of Bafana’s electrifying counter-attacks early in the second half at the Estadio de Mongomo on Monday night.
It was just a few minutes after Rantie helped set up Thuso Phala’s goal with a delightful back-heel in the Algerian penalty area.
At that point Bafana had all the momentum, and there was a feeling that if that penalty went in they would be well on their way to a famous victory over an Algerian team that was rubbish for the better part of an hour.
But Rantie went for power, and hit the crossbar. And that rattle of the woodwork seemed to wake up the Algerians, who then scored three unanswered goals to put Bafana away and shoot to the top of Group C on goal difference.
However, it’s a pity Rantie is copping so much flack, because before the penalty he was good value.
The brilliant Andile Jali managed to create space for him, and he caused the Algerian central midfielders and defenders all sorts of strife.
The former Orlando Pirates man pulled Nabil Bentaleb all over the park with his darting runs, and created space for midfielder Sibusiso Vilakazi and overlapping left back Thabo Matlaba.
Unfortunately, the penalty miss has overshadowed the performance of the striker, who scored four goals during the qualifiers, including two brilliant individual efforts against Nigeria away from home.
Rantie is still Bafana’s premier striker, but who knows what sort of mindset he will be in heading into Friday’s crucial group match against Senegal, who beat Ghana 2-1 in Monday’s early match.
But the Bafana captain against Algeria, Dean Furman, is confident Rantie will be ready to redeem himself when they take the field against the Lions of Teranga.
“We won the penalty and TK picked up the ball. He is our striker, he is confident and we had confidence in him. He went for the top corner, but sadly it hit the top of the bar,” Furman said.
“But TK is a confident player, and I’m sure when the next penalty arrives he will put his hand up to take it.”
Furman admitted that the missed penalty was probably the turning point in the match.
At that point Algeria were chasing shadows, as the one-touch, high-paced game plan of Bafana hit top gear.
The speed of Bafana’s attacks was too much for the Algerians, who were one of the few teams at last year’s World Cup to run Germany close.
In the end, though, Bafana paid the price for not taking their chances, especially in that period in the first half before the break.
Defender Thulani Hlatshwayo’s own goal, minutes after the penalty miss, sucked the remaining life out the national team.
“Listen, these things happen. We are disappointed because the penalty would have put us 2-0 up and into a very good position,” Furman said.
“I thought we played some lovely football at times, but we couldn’t get away with a win today. It wasn’t to be, and we have to keep our heads up.
“I’m just a little bit disappointed that we didn’t react when they got their first goal. It’s not the start we wanted, and the next game (against Senegal) is crucial for us.”
Yesterday, there was still no clarity about defender Rivaldo Coetzee’s knee injury.
It is not clear if it’s the same injury that prevented him from taking the field in Bafana’s final warm-up match against Mali in Gabon.
He didn’t train yesterday, and coach Shakes Mashaba said after the match that he would probably not take any further part in the tournament.
“He was limping badly. Unless our medical staff can sort him out, for now I have ruled him out,” Mashaba said.
Kaizer Chiefs defender Eric Mathoho, who was suspended for Monday’s clash, will come into the centre of defence against Senegal. - The Mercury